Portrait

Portrait

Introduction

As an interdisciplinary team of experienced specialists we can provide you and your unborn child with the most up-to-date diagnostic and therapeutic care. We aim to be competent, considerate, respectful, ethical, and prompt and to care for you within an environment designed to be as pleasant as possible for you. It goes without saying that our Center is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that is both highly efficient and minimally burdensome to you and your child.

Our mission

Unfortunately, the dream of giving birth to a healthy baby does not always become reality. In some cases prenatal testing reveals that the unborn child is not healthy. In such cases we can help to find out exactly what the problem is, identify possibilities for treatment both before and after birth, and provide you with comprehensive advice.
We are a university-based center for prenatal (fetal) diagnosis and therapy. We can perform the most up-to-date and detailed tests for all diseases and malformations of the unborn child and can provide all of the presently available forms of prenatal treatment – whether conservative, interventional, or surgical – that have the potential to improve the unborn child’s chances.

Ethos

At our Center we are guided by the six basic principles of medical ethics:

Autonomy (the patient’s wishes are paramount)

Beneficence (the patient’s wellbeing is paramount)

Non-maleficence (“first, do no harm”)

Justice (equitable distribution of resources)

Dignity (in life and death)

Truthfulness and honesty (e.g. in provision of information)

In pregnancy the interests of the mother are often in conflict with those of the unborn child. In such cases the conflicting interests must be weighed against each other to find solutions that are in the best interests of all parties and consistent with Swiss legislation. Preservation of the life and health of the child is an important objective, however in individual cases it may be reasonable to allow a child with incurable problems to die with dignity. We can draw upon many years of experience with such situations and provide you with professional advice in this regard.

Interdisciplinary approach

Pregnant women whose unborn child has problems want a designated contact person who will initiate any necessary measures and provide them with advice and support. However, complex cases often require a complete team made up of obstetricians, neonatologists, geneticists, pathologists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, and pediatric surgeons. At our Center we hold regular meetings to plan the best course of action for each individual patient. In this way you benefit from having a designated contact person while at the same time being supported by a complete team.

Counseling and care

At our Center we operate a system centered on a designated contact person who keeps a tab on everything but consults other members of the team whenever necessary. This ensures that you enjoy continuity of care at all times. At the same time it guards against the possibility that any individual might make a less than optimal decision about your care.